The mission of the Research Core is to build upon an existing research infrastructure and to support new research nitiatives that will focus on evaluating and intervening upon the clinical, psychological, social, and environmental determinants that underlie health disparities. While disparities in health exists in a number of chronic conditions ommonly experienced by black-Americans, cardiovascular disease and cancer are the leading causes of excess morbidity and mortality among blacks. Two projects will be supported by the Research Core that are targeted toward reducing health disparities in colorectal cancer screening and hypertension control among residents in Central Harlem and the South Bronx in New York City. The Research Core Director is Dr. Gbenga Ogedegbe MD, an experienced investigator who has an outstanding track record in developing and implementing research projects in disparities populations. The Co-Director is Dr. Alvin Mushlin, Professor and Chair of the Department of Public Health at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University who has experience in conducting randomized trials. The specific aims of the Research Core are as follows: 1) To build on an existing research infrastructure and support the development, implementation, and dissemination of original and innovative research studies focusing on identifying and understanding the determinants of health disparities ; 2) To provide support in research design, selection of specific measures, data management and maintenance, and statistical analysis for all projects conducted under CEDREC; 3) To provide support and increase the expertise in biostatistics, research design, and data management for all investigators within CEDREC and minority investigators who will be trained under the Research Training Core. The Research Core will advance health disparities research by leveraging Weill Cornell's and New York University's expertise in conducting successful translational behavioral science research and by developing new research paradigms that advance our current understanding of health disparities.